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Tonight at Henry’s, I’d heard from Abe Powers, Kona’s husband, that the poker group had gathered at the inn to remember Phyllis, and I was sure Ava had been a part of that.
I realized what she must be going through, and I couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone.
Except when I walked into the main room at the inn at a little after ten after closing down Henry’s, she wasn’t alone. She was with the new chump in town, who I barely knew from Adam. I’d been introduced to Knox Breckenridge by Holden at the restaurant. I might’ve exchanged a grand total of six sentences with him. I didn’t have anything against the guy, just didn’t have any reason to be his friend.
It was irrational and unreasonable, but seeing Ava sitting with him, all cozy and locked in intimate conversation, made me grumpy.
“Breckenridge,” I said with a somber nod as I walked up between their chairs.
“Hey, Cash.” He stood and offered a hand. I had to summon every bit of my upbringing to shake it and play nice. It was late, I’d had a long couple of days, and I wasn’t the friendliest guy on a good day.
I turned my attention to Ava and found smiling easier. “Hey, Ava.”
“Hi, Cash.” She managed to smile back. “What’s going on?”
“I was worried about you,” I said pointedly, then held up the Henry’s bag. “Brought you something.”
Her eyes lit up as she took in the sack, and I’m not proud to admit that made me stand up a little taller, as if I’d scored one on the lanky dude sitting with her.
“Pull up a chair and join us,” Ava said.
“Actually, I need to head back to my room,” Knox said, apparently understanding I had zero desire to be a third wheel. Credit to him.
“I hope we didn’t scare you away. You barely got started writing,” Ava said.
Knox closed his laptop, then picked up his notebook. “I was on the deck for a couple hours, until the bugs got too thick. Got a few hundred words in.”
I realized they must have bonded about writing. That should’ve made me relax, should’ve made me glad Ava had made a connection with someone, but there was something about that guy I didn’t trust.
“That’s great—all but the bugs,” Ava said, frowning. “I need to screen in a section of that deck. Anyway, it was great talking to you.”
He stood. “You too. Good to meet a fellow writer.”
“Don’t forget to send me your manuscript,” she said as he went toward the door with a wave over his shoulder.
Once he left, I released my breath and really looked at Ava. She was harried and exhausted, with shadows under her eyes, her hair pulled up in a messy knot, and a faint smile. She wore shorts, a turquoise T-shirt, and a lightweight, oversized, short-sleeved jacket thing that I’d heard my sister refer to as a kimono wrap. On her feet were sandals with wedge heels and straps that went around her ankles. In spite of enduring her aunt’s funeral today, she looked casual yet professional and so damn pretty. Time had been kind to her, if not the day, and in my opinion, she looked even prettier now than she had at twenty.
“It’s late.” Her tone said,You shouldn’t have come.
“I was betting you haven’t eaten.”
The bluster seemed to drain out of her, and she gave me a sheepish smile. “I haven’t eaten. Not since the meal at the church.”
Holding up the carryout bag again, I asked, “Will you?”
Ava looked between the bag and my face. “I wouldn’t want to be rude by not eating what the chef brought.”
“Good answer. I brought a little for me tonight too. Long shift. I forgot utensils though.”
She held up a finger and walked over to the dining area. When she returned, she had utensils and napkins. “You just got done with work?” she asked, as she came up to the couch where I sat.
I nodded, then patted the cushion next to me. “Take a load off.”
Ava looked toward the doorway to the lobby. “I can’t see if someone comes in from here.”
“But you can hear. Besides, it’s a Thursday night, going on eleven. It looked like the whole inn was tucked in for the night when I drove up.” Except for Breckenridge.
She bit her lip for a second, eyeing the doorway again, then she strode over to it, reassured herself the small lobby was deserted, came back, and sat down on the other half of the couch.
